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The Transportation Security Administration dropped the mask mandate that previously required all passengers to wear a face-covering on all flights.
Florida's Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle–a President Donald Trump appointee–struck down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s national mask mandate on most public transportation on Monday.
The federal court ruling led several major US airlines–including American, Delta, Southwest, United, Jet Blue, Spirit, and Alaska Air–to announce they would no longer enforce the COVID-19 health mandate.
Mixed reactions were instantaneous, including a joyous one evidenced in a viral video in which a flight attendant was seen marking the occasion by singing "throw away your masks."
Posting again because Twitter deleted (?)\n\nThe end of the #maskmandate has this plane singing \n\n Throw away your masks pic.twitter.com/BvvCNLE6Ts— Guy P. Football (@Guy P. Football) 1650333168
Not everyone appreciated his celebratory chant eliciting cheers from onboard passengers.
Many fear the mask-free announcement will only prolong the pandemic as other parts of the country are seeing a significant spike in COVID cases.
Disappointed in that flight attendant, will never fly Jet Blue again. No consideration for people who are immunocompromised, elderly or have Long Covid.\nLet's see how long it takes for crew and pilots to get sick as well as passengers. Then let see how smart that judge was.— DMF (@DMF) 1650415440
Hope the airlines get sued over this. Imagine being someone who safely got on a plane under the expectation everyone would be masked only for the airline to stab them in the back.— Quack (@Quack) 1650343792
Most disturbing video I've seen, how reckless can someone be. how dare he sing, rejoice and make people happy, we all must live in constant fear like we are told. yet the ones who are terrified still choose to travel. Best option stay home— a.k (@a.k) 1650438495
I wonder if during the Black Death, there were folks walking around shouting, \u201cthrow your rat traps in here\u201d??— \ud83d\ude80\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udf08 LGBTQ+ \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@\ud83d\ude80\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udf08 LGBTQ+ \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1650344923
Those who are immunocompromised expressed their new fear and frustration in the midst of a near-post-pandemic era.
Well traveling just got more terrifying for me. I\u2019m chronically ill + serious autoimmune disease, so had to take precautions before Covid - so the pandemic made things worse for people like me. Most people don\u2019t have compassion for us.— Ashley K (@Ashley K) 1650356085
I\u2019m disabled. I literally can\u2019t wear masks due to how intense my autism is. I have been stuck indoors since covid. My caregiver is my only family and access to life. If they get sick, die, or get LC my future no longer exists, as carehomes aren\u2019t safe or accessible. \n\nPls mask.— Alice (ae/aem/aers/aemself) (@Alice (ae/aem/aers/aemself)) 1650374684
Others scoffed at the theatrics in the video following the laxed rule.
They also thought the COVID mandate should still be in place as other variants of the viral pathogen continue mutating and infecting people–regardless of vaccination status.
This is quite gross. I will never ever get on a plane again without a KN95.— GringaLoca (@GringaLoca) 1650335632
I'm gonna have to go the full Naomi when I travel from now onpic.twitter.com/RAoT9eccWk— Chuck Aligbe (@Chuck Aligbe) 1650338890
Here it comes\u2026\nWalking down the street\u2026\nGet the shortness of breath again\u2026\nWhen anybody breathes\u2026\n\nHey, hey, it\u2019s the 19!\nPeople thought Covid was gone\u2026\nBut it was just waiting\u2026\nUntil we took all our masks down\u2026\n\nHey, hey it\u2019s mutating!\nBecause we again screwed around!— Andrew JP Carroll, MD (@Andrew JP Carroll, MD) 1650335038
Bet he changes his 'tune' once the numbers shoot back up and he and his co-workers are working fatigued and short staffed!— Virtual Citizen (@Virtual Citizen) 1650340875
This is gross. Keeping mine on because I still give a shit about people.— ArieAy (@ArieAy) 1650345796
I\u2019m looking forward to mass cancellation of flights when there aren\u2019t enough healthy people to staff them.— Jane Doe (@Jane Doe) 1650368336
People not in a position to speak on behalf of others who are still vulnerable downplayed their concerns.
Lol the anger at this is mind blowing. What did people do before Covid???? I\u2019m so happy we\u2019re slowly getting back to LIVING— Jordan Hanks (@Jordan Hanks) 1650339934
Excellent finally. Reverse all this bs. Haven\u2019t worn one ever. Only at woke hospitals.— Karl (@Karl) 1650372813
In spite of the voided mask rule, experts wonder if the U.S. understands the current threat of COVID-19.
According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, only an estimated 7% of positive Covid-19 cases in the US are being detected–which means case rates are 14.5 times higher than officially reported.
We are not out of the woods yet as COVID cases continue to rise in the country.